Lost n Found: AU Rickyl
by LJ Michaels
Summary: Short Rickyl fluff.


_*A short Rickyl AU fluff._

 **Lost n Found**

As the new constable was being introduced to a group of Senoia residents at the local fire station, Daryl Dixon was passing by on his way to work at the nearby auto repair shop. He paused for a moment behind the small group, curious about the newest resident. He, himself, stayed out of police sightlines, but his brother, Merle, seemed to be a magnet for them. Merle was currently serving 6 months for aggravated assault and destruction of property: he'd picked one too many drunken fights and destroyed too many bars. Merle's ex-wife, Carol, and her daughter, Sophia, still lived in the same town. He doted on Sophia at much as possible, babysitting when he could and being a good uncle. Merle was mostly a no-show in the 4-year-old's life, even when he _wasn't_ in jail.

Peering over the crowd, Daryl saw the new constable standing in his beige uniform, fidgeting with the brown Stetson in his hands. Another constable, Tobin Douglas, was introducing the new man, whose smile seemed friendly and genuine - and Daryl could see the man's blue eyes from where he stood.

Those blue eyes suddenly met his own, and Daryl narrowed his gaze to a reflexive glare. Inside, he felt something unfamiliar - something he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt his face relax and his eyes widen, the pull of attraction strong in his stomach. "Officer Friendly's" smile faltered for a brief moment, and he looked away when someone asked a question, addressing him as Officer Grimes.

Daryl saw Officer Grimes give him one last glance as he turned to answer the question. As Daryl turned to continue on his way, the officer replied, "Call me Rick."

 _Why did that name make his heart do funny things in his chest? Probably too much coffee already today._

Daryl shook his head at himself and kept walking. Love at first sight was ridiculous…wasn't it? He had come to the conclusion that he was pansexual, having had brief relationships with both men and women, but this Rick guy? This felt…different. He scoffed at himself…maybe it was just lust. Or the coffee.

Changing into his coveralls and going to work on a dark blue Chevy, Daryl could not stop thinking about the officer. Dammit, What was it about the guy? Dark wavy hair, lean build, bright blue eyes…. He was deep in the engine compartment when a sudden sharp pain in his palm startled him from his thoughts. He jerked his hand back and saw blood - a lot of it - and realized he'd cut himself badly.

Growling at himself under his breath, Daryl turned to let his boss know he'd be going to the clinic to get it checked out. "Abe! Got to take a little break!"

The redhead turned from the front desk with a scowl. Daryl then lifted his bloodied hand and wiggled his fingers. Abe made a sour face, but nodded curtly. There were customers at the desk, and Daryl knew professionalism was important to Abe. Luckily, the clinic was across the street from the fire station. Daryl hoped it would be a short visit.

As he walked into the small clinic, Maggie, the head nurse, greeted him, eyeing up the blood-soaked paper towels he'd pressed to the wound.

"Got yourself good this time, looks like."

Daryl nodded glumly. "Needs stitches, I think."

"Come on. Let's have a look."

Maggie led him to an exam room, where he sat on the table, the white paper covering crackling beneath him. Maggie put on latex gloves, and then gently removed the paper towels.

Daryl had known Maggie since she was very small. Her father and Daryl's now-deceased father had been friends - both were farmers. Maggie confirmed he needed stitches, and began to clean the wound gently.

"When's the last time you had a tetanus shot?"

"Uh…last time I got stitches…two or three years ago?"

"Mm. Seems like longer." Maggie was concentrating on his injury. "I'll check your records…just to be sure."

Daryl sighed. "Okay, maybe it's been eight or nine." He _hated_ shots, and tetanus shots were usually in the butt cheek.

She smiled at him brightly. "Time for a booster, probably."

Daryl groaned and rolled his eyes. "Yeah…I… _ow_!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" She put a thick pad of gauze over the cut. "I'll get the booster and Glenn…Dr. Rhee." Glenn was her husband, and they ran the clinic together.

Maggie was back soon, gave him the booster - in the arm, not the butt cheek, thankfully. Dr. Rhee came in a few minutes later and numbed his hand.

As he began to stitch, he scolded , "Got to be more careful, Daryl."

"Pssh, I know. Got…distracted for a second."

Glenn glanced up from the stitching with a grin. "What does she...or he… look like?"

Daryl flushed silently, but Glenn and Maggie knew his dating preferences.

Chuckling, Glenn went back to work. "Hope we get to meet them."

"Shut it, will ya?"

"Okay, sorry." He completed the stitching with a grin.

As he walked out the clinic, Daryl was stunned to come face-to-face with Rick. For a moment he couldn't speak. Those bright blue eyes were nearly overwhelming up close.

Rick seemed to freeze for a moment, too. "Hey…hi…saw you earlier…today….at the fire station, right?"

Daryl stared at him numbly, becoming aware his mouth was hanging open. He managed to close it and give a weak nod.

Noticing his bandaged hand, Rick's brow furrowed. "Saw you walk in earlier. You okay?"

Finally, Daryl was able to recovered some of his senses. "I cut my work…I, uh, cut it at work." He felt his face growing warm. "I'm Daryl Dixon." He offered his uninjured right hand.

Rick smiled, taking Daryl's hand in his own. "Rick Grimes."

"Yeah…um…heard you…earlier." He nodded toward the building, and saw Tobin coming their way. Reluctantly, he released Rick's hand.

"So…stitches?"

Daryl scoffed and glanced down at his bandaged hand. "Six. _And_ a tetanus booster."

Rick winced in sympathy. "I, um…we were just going in to meet everyone here…at the clinic." Tobin joined them on the sidewalk.

Daryl nodded to Tobin. "They're good people," he said to Rick. "I'd introduce you, but I've got to get back to work."

Rick gestured to Daryl's coveralls, which had _Dale's Auto_ embroidered over the chest pocket. "We're headed there soon."

He grinned and Daryl's stomach fluttered. "Okay, see you later then." He knew Rick watched him as he turned to leave, but Daryl didn't turn back. That seemed a little…needy.

Back at work, Abe had Daryl covering the front desk due to his injured hand. Daryl didn't like working with the public, but the foot traffic today was light. He jumped every time the bell over the door sounded, expecting it to be Rick and Tobin.

When they did arrive, Daryl was on the phone setting up an oil change appointment. He nearly dropped the handset upon seeing Tobin enter the garage, closely followed by Rick. He completely lost his train of thought and had to ask the caller to repeat some information. Blushing, he finished and hung up the phone.

"Hey, Daryl," Tobin greeted, "Abe around?"

"Yeah, out in the main bay." He caught Rick's eye and smiled. "Hi, again."

"Hey," Rick nodded, hat in his hands again, blue eyes shining. "Your hand doing okay?"

Daryl nodded. "Okay-ish." It was throbbing but he didn't want to admit it.

"Good. See you…uh…later."

As Rick followed Tobin toward the bay, Daryl noticed a shiny silver band on Rick's left hand. Daryl's heart sank. _How had he read the man so wrong? And how had he_ missed _that?_ He sighed and turned back to the computer. It just wasn't his day.

Tobin introduced Rick around the garage, and Daryl tried hard not to pay attention. He did a good job until the first time he heard Rick laugh, and the hair stood up on his arms. _It's not fair_ , he whined to himself. _It's just...not._ He was glad it was nearly time to go home.

At the end of his shift, Daryl changed out of his coveralls and stopped by the drug store for some antibiotic cream Glenn had prescribed." Better safe than sorry", he'd told Daryl. He also wanted some Tylenol to help with the soreness.

Reaching to open the drug store's glass door, he saw Tobin and Rick inside speaking to the owner, Denise. Daryl faltered for a moment, but then Rick caught his eye and nodded. Daryl nodded back as he opened the door, trying to pretend everything was normal. That his heart wasn't still sinking into his boots.

He walked toward the pharmacy counter in the back, purposely going one aisle over from where Rick stood. Earlier that day, he would have done anything to brush up against the man. Now… well, now there was no point.

Snagging a small bottle of Tylenol, Daryl continued to the pharmacy counter to pick up his prescription. He paid for both there, and turned to leave. Rick was standing in his path…again.

"Could I talk to you for a minute, Daryl? Tobin and I are done for the day."

The sound of his name coming out of Rick's mouth made Daryl's heart sink even further. "Okay." He tipped his head toward the front of the store. "Outside?"

Rick nodded and turned to walk down the aisle, Daryl following and noticing the constable's bowlegged walk. And nice ass. He forced himself to watch the back of Rick's head as they walked… and admired the dark curls at the base of his skull.

They stepped out of the pharmacy, and Daryl turned to the right. "There's a little park down the street. It's quiet."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, I noticed it earlier."

Rick fell in step beside Daryl, seeming content to keep silent as they walked. Daryl watched their shadows, noting they were almost the same height, other than Rick's hat. Daryl's shoulders were broader, but they were both quite lean. A match _almost_ made in heaven. Almost.

When they reached the park, Daryl led Rick to an empty bench in the shade. There were a few children playing on the swings and slides, but the adults were either engrossed in their phones or watching the kids play. No one paid any attention to Rick and Daryl.

Settling on one of the benches, Daryl waited a moment as Rick also sat down and removed his Stetson.

"Is this where you tell me about your wife and kids?"

"Huh?" Rick sounded confused.

"Saw your ring."

Rick lifted his hand as if he'd forgotten about it. "Oh! Well…recently divorced, one kid, and he's with _her_." There was definite bitterness in that word.

"Oh, sorry," Daryl felt foolish for jumping to conclusions based on jewelry. "Um… earlier…I was planning to maybe…ask you out, but…"

"I'm not exactly straight, if that's what you're getting at."

"It is."

Rick smiled, and Daryl noticed the adorable crinkles at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to run his fingers over them, kiss them…and then realized Rick was saying something. Daryl felt his face going red again. "Sorry…I…zoned out."

"I saw that," Rick seemed amused but then became more thoughful. "I…uh…never had a serious relationship with a man, but…if the right one were to…" He shrugged and caught Daryl's eyes.

Staring into those blue eyes, Daryl hoped it would be him. At a loss for what to say next, he grasped at a straw. "Were you with your wife a long time?"

"Eighteen years."

"Wow." Daryl thought about it for a moment, and Rick looked away into the park. "Can I ask what happened? It's not my business, but…"

"It's all right." He sighed softly. "I honestly think I would have stayed with Lori for…well, life." Looking down at his ring, he continued. "Things were never that great with us after Carl was born. She knew I was either/or, but I never cheated and she never seemed to mind that I occasionally commented on a good-looking guy." He chuckled softly. "We even compared notes sometimes."

"But then…?" Daryl was fascinated with Rick's story. His own stories were dull in comparison. His most serious relationship had lasted less than 5 months.

He shrugged and sighed. " _She_ fell for my partner, Shane." He squirmed on the bench, tugging on the crease of his pants.

"You don't have to tell me…." Daryl began.

"I _want_ to, Daryl, it's…sort of hard to talk about yet." Rick stilled then, looking at the ground. "But easy with you, it seems." He looked up and his eyes seemed to take in every feature of Daryl's face. He sighed softly and looked down again. "One day, I found Shane's badge in our washing machine. He'd lost it the week before, telling everyone it must have come off when he was chasing a perp…" Rick stopped again, seeming to gather himself. "She was doing his laundry…in _our_ house…and I had _no_ clue."

Daryl slid closer to Rick, putting a hand on the constable's knee. "Or maybe you didn't _want_ to see it."

Shaking his head, Rick replied, "God, I just met you and I'm spilling my guts. Not too dignified."

"Rick," Daryl began, thoroughly enjoying that name in his mouth. "I get it. Even though I was never married, I understand. Being blindsided is not cool."

Rick turned to Daryl, pain in his eyes. "I had get out of that town. Everyone knows everyone's business. It was…suffocating." He smiled a little and put his hand on top of Daryl's. "Didn't think I'd run into someone I was interested in on my _first day_ of work here."

Daryl's brows rose hopefully.

Rick nodded, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes showing again. "Yeah, you."

Daryl snorted and blushed again. "I definitely didn't wake up thinking I'd have a date tonight….or whenever."

"Tonight works."

"I…" Daryl began, and his phone suddenly rang. "Sorry, Rick, just a sec." _Talk about crappy timing_. He pulled his phone from his back pocket, thankful he didn't need remove his hand from Rick's knee to do so. It was Carol, so he answered. "Hey, Car-"

Carol's frantic voice came over the phone before he could finish his greeting. "Is she with _you_? I can't…I can't find Sophia!"

"What do you m-"

"Sophia's _missing_! I can't…" She began to sob.

"She's not with me, but I'll be right there!" Daryl stood and Rick got up, too, looking concerned. Their hands were still linked.

"What is it?"

"My niece - she's only 4 and my sister-in-law can't find her."

"They live here?"

"Yeah." Daryl turned toward the street and Rick moved with him.

"My squad car is down the street."

"Good, great." They began to jog toward the car. Daryl was frightened badly. Carol was a little over-protective and didn't let Sophia out of her sight for even a few seconds. And Sophia was very much a 'momma's girl' and not one to wander off.

Once in the car, Rick radioed in to see if Carol had called in the missing girl. She had, so he turned on the lights and sirens and followed Daryl's directions to the small Cape Cod house only a few minutes away.

As they pulled up, Daryl was out of the car almost before Rick had come to a stop. Carol was standing on the lawn with her hands to her face. Daryl ran up and took her in his arms, feeling her body tremble with sobs.

Rick introduced himself and began to ask the usual questions about when Carol saw Sophia last, what was she wearing, and so on. She answered from the comfort of Daryl's arms for a few moments, but then pushed away.

"We have to keep looking!" She took Daryl's hand and let him around the side of the house. "Maybe she went into the grove out back…."

Rick stood on the lawn as a second squad car pulled up, siren wailing. He gestured to them to cut the noise. Tobin got out with his partner, Paul, whom Rick had met that morning.

"I'm going with them," Rick said as he turned to follow Daryl and Carol.

"We'll stay here," Tobin answered. "Keep in touch!"

Rick waved as he trotted around the corner of the house.

After dark, the search continued with help from the neighbors and many flashlights. There was confusion and shouting, but things became quiet after midnight. The searchers gradually left to get some sleep, promising to return in the morning.

Daryl convinced Carol to lie down and rest until first light, and he dozed off on the living room sofa. Rick sat in the recliner nearby, determined to stay awake, but he fell asleep, too, despite several cups of strong coffee.

Daryl woke as the sky was beginning to brighten. Carol came out of her room and met his eyes, her own eyes red and bloodshot.

"Thank you for staying." She glanced at Rick, who had not stirred.

Daryl followed her gaze to the sleeping deputy. They hadn't had any time to talk the night before, though he longed to get to know him better. He looked back at Carol. "Anything for Sophia."

Carol teared up a little at that. "I'll make some coffee and we can go out again."

"Okay."

Daryl dozed off again, watching Rick sleep. When he woke, Rick was gone. Daryl went to the window looking out on the backyard, stretching as he walked. Reaching the window, he saw Rick heading toward the grove behind the house. They had gone through there at least 3 times the night before, but it was so full of brush and low branches it was nearly impossible to pass through. And there had been no sign of Sophia.

Daryl watched Rick reach the brush at the edge of the trees, stooping a little to look into the dense growth. After a moment, he took his hat off and pushed through the branches out of sight. Daryl stood watching, wondering what would have led him to go in there again.

As Daryl was about to go outside and follow the deputy, Rick re-emerged - with Sophia in his arms. "Carol!" Daryl shouted, "He found her!"

Daryl heard Carol gasp from the kitchen. She ran through the living room and out the front door, calling her daughter's name. Daryl was right behind her.

Sophia was chattering as she and Rick reached the front corner of the house. Carol went to them, sobbing in relief. Rick handed the little girl to her mother, who sank to the ground clutching her daughter close.

"Says she heard us last night, but she was 'hiding'."

"Don't cry, momma," Sophia soothed her. "The cowboy found me."

Carol looked up at Rick. "Thank you, " she put her face into Sophia's tangled hair. "Thank you so much."

"Yeah, ditto," Daryl said in a choked voice.

Rick met Daryl's wet eyes with his own, knowing if he blinked tears would run freely down his face. Not trusting his voice, he extended his hand to Daryl. Taking it firmly, he gave a gentle tug and pulled Daryl into his arms.

Finding himself wrapped up in a tight hug, Daryl asked, "Does this count as our first date?"

Rick laughed and released Daryl, but held his hands. "No way," he replied, "We'll have _that_ date tonight." Leaning in, he kissed Daryl firmly.

Still sitting on the ground with her mother, Sophia squealed, "Unca Daryl has a boyfriend!"


End file.
